Islamic Fiqh > Purification (Tahara) > The major ablution (ghusl)
Ghusl: when it is obligatory, its obligations and sunnas, the Prophet's description, and the special cases the jurists discussed.
Contents
Updated on 24 September 2026 at 1:14 PM
These sheets come from the encyclopedia of Islamic jurisprudence (al-Mawsūʿa al-fiqhiyya) and deal with the major ritual bath (ghusl) and the causes that make it obligatory. Each question is treated school by school (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali), with evidence from the Quran and the Sunna, the quoted hadiths, and the references of the classical works. Treated in turn: semen emerging after ghusl, the dream without recollection, semen felt and held back, the meeting of the two circumcisions, penetrating the vagina of a beast, menstruation and lochia, the ghusl of the new convert, washing the deceased, the description of ghusl, and the rule when two causes combine.
The jurists differed over the person in a state of janāba who performs ghusl and then sees semen emerge afterwards: must he repeat the ghusl a second time or not?
Abu Hanifa, Muhammad and Ahmad, according to one report, held that if the semen emerges after urination no ghusl is due: it is a remainder of the semen he already washed from. If the semen emerges before he urinates, ghusl becomes obligatory again, because it is a remainder of fluid that flowed out with stream and desire, which requires washing.
The Shafi'is, along with Imams Malik and Ahmad according to a report narrated from them, require ghusl absolutely upon the emergence of semen, relying on the general sense of the Prophet's words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
"Water comes only from water"
Narrated by Muslim (343)
The hadith makes no distinction; semen is moreover a kind of ritual impurity (hadath) that negates purity absolutely, and the emergence itself qualifies as a cause of ghusl. This is the report from Ahmad chosen by Ibn Qudama.
Malik and Ahmad, according to the more famous report from him, held that no ghusl is due at all: it is a single janāba and does not require two ghusls, as if the semen had come out all at once. Al-Khallal reported mutawātir transmissions from Abu Abdillah (Ahmad) that nothing falls upon him except wudūʾ (minor ablution), whether he urinated or not; on this basis his position settled (Al-Mughni, 1/263; Badaʾiʿ al-Sanāʾiʿ, 1/145; Radd al-Muhtar, 1/297; Al-Qawānin al-Fiqhiyya, 23; Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil, 1/163; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/127; Al-Majmuʿ, 2/159; Al-Ifsah, 1/84).
The people of knowledge agreed: whoever wakes from sleep, sees semen and does not remember a wet dream (ihtilām) must perform ghusl. Conversely, if he saw in his dream that he had a wet dream or intercourse but finds no trace of moisture upon waking, no ghusl is due upon him.
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) reported: "They agreed that if a man sees in his sleep that he had a wet dream or intercourse and finds no moisture, no ghusl is due upon him" (Al-Ijmaʿ, 20).
The evidence is the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about the man who finds moisture without remembering a wet dream. He said: he washes. And about the man who sees in his dream that he had a wet dream but finds no moisture, he said: no ghusl is due upon him"
Hasan hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud (236) and al-Tirmidhi (113)
Umm Salama narrated that Umm Sulaym asked: "O Messenger of Allah, must a woman perform ghusl if she has a wet dream?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied: "Yes, when she sees the water." This sahih hadith, cited earlier in the encyclopedia, shows that no ghusl falls upon a woman unless she sees the fluid (Al-Ijmaʿ, 20; Al-Mughni, 1/263-264).
Ahmad, in the most famous report from him, held that whoever feels the movement of semen under the effect of desire and then holds back his penis without letting anything out must perform ghusl: desire accompanies the movement, which resembles the case where the semen actually emerges. Ahmad also denied that the fluid could flow back.
The three imams Abu Hanifa, Malik and al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad according to another report, held that there is no ghusl in this case. Ibn Qudama noted that this is the view of most jurists (Al-Mughni, 1/261).
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) discussed the man who kisses a woman, feels the semen move and descend, holds back his penis and sees nothing come out at the moment, without knowing whether something came out afterwards: in our view no ghusl is due, and all the scholars say so except Ahmad, who requires ghusl in the more famous of his two reports and refuses that the semen could flow back.
His evidence is the Prophet's saying (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Water comes only from water", together with the scholars' agreement that whoever feels a hadath such as a bubbling sensation (qarqara) or wind without anything coming out owes no wudūʾ; the same applies here (Al-Majmuʿ, 2/159; Radd al-Muhtar, 1/296; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/126; Al-Mughni, 1/261; Al-Ifsah, 1/84; Manar al-Sabil, 1/50).
The jurists agreed that the meeting of the two circumcisions (khitanān) is among the causes that oblige ghusl. The evidence is the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"When he sits between her four limbs (shuʿab) and the circumcised part touches the circumcised part, ghusl becomes obligatory"
Narrated by Muslim (349)
"When he sits between her four limbs and then exerts himself upon her, ghusl becomes obligatory upon him", a variant adding: "even if he does not ejaculate"
Narrated by al-Bukhari (291) and Muslim (348)
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) commented: the obligation of ghusl does not depend on ejaculation; as soon as the glans disappears inside the vagina, ghusl becomes obligatory on both the man and the woman. The question no longer raises any disagreement today, although it divided some Companions and their successors, before consensus settled on what has been quoted.
The meeting of the two circumcisions occurs through the disappearance of the glans inside the vagina. The man's circumcised part is the skin that remains after circumcision; the woman's is a fold of flesh like a rooster's comb, above the vagina, cut away at circumcision. When the glans disappears inside the vagina, the man's circumcised part comes level with the woman's, and their facing counts as the meeting.
The meeting meant here is not their sticking together: if a man places the site of his circumcision against that of the woman without inserting it into the opening of the private part, no ghusl is obligatory, by consensus. The glans is the head of the penis. Moreover the whole glans must disappear: if only part of it disappears, no ghusl is due, by unanimous agreement (Al-Majmuʿ, 2/149).
In his commentary on Sahih Muslim, al-Nawawi clarified the meaning of "the circumcised part touches the circumcised part": the scholars explained it as inserting the penis into the vagina, not a physical touch, for the woman's circumcised part is at the upper part of the vagina and the penis does not touch it during intercourse. The scholars even agreed that if a man places his penis upon the woman's circumcised part without penetrating, no ghusl is due on him or on her; the "meeting" is indeed the facing described (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 4/37-39; Radd al-Muhtar, 1/298-299; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/128; Kashshaf al-Qināʿ, 1/122; ʿUmdat al-Qari, 3/247; al-Tamhid, 23/113; al-Insaf, 1/232; Al-Mughni, 1/266).
Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad held that whoever disobeys Allah, exalted be He, by penetrating the vagina of a beast must perform ghusl even if he does not ejaculate. Abu Hanifa, for his part, only requires ghusl upon ejaculation (Radd al-Muhtar, 1/305; Badaʾiʿ al-Sanāʾiʿ, 1/144; Al-Qawānin al-Fiqhiyya, 23; Mawahib al-Jalil, 1/308; Al-Hawi al-Kabir, 1/212; Al-Majmuʿ, 2/224; Al-Ifsah, 1/84; Sharh Sahih Muslim, 4/38).
The jurists agreed: menstruation (hayd) and post-childbirth bleeding (nifās) are among the causes that oblige ghusl. Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote that the scholars agreed on this obligation; Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari and others transmitted this consensus (Al-Majmuʿ, 2/166-167).
Allah, exalted be He, says:
"They ask you about menstruation. Say: it is a harm, so keep away from women during menstruation and do not approach them until they are pure. When they have purified themselves, then come to them as Allah has commanded you"
Surah al-Baqarah, 222
The verse requires the woman to be washed before her husband may come to her, "when they have purified themselves" meaning: when they have performed ghusl. And whatever is indispensable to fulfilling an obligation is itself an obligation.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that Asma' asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the ghusl of the menstruating woman:
"Let one of you take her water and lotus leaves (sidr), purify herself well, then pour water over her head and rub it vigorously down to the roots of her hair, then pour the water over her whole body; then let her take a cloth scented with musk and purify herself with it. Asma' asked: how does one purify with it? He answered: Glory be to Allah! You purify yourself with it. Aisha, as though softening the remark, said: you follow the traces of blood. Asma' also asked him about the ghusl of janāba and he said: take water, purify yourself well, pour over your head and rub it down to the roots of your hair, then pour the water all over yourself. Aisha concluded: how excellent were the women of the Ansar! Shyness did not keep them from learning their religion thoroughly"
Narrated by Muslim (332)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said to Fatima bint Abi Hubaysh:
"When menstruation comes, leave the prayer; when it departs, wash the blood from yourself and pray"
Narrated by al-Bukhari (306) and Muslim (333)
And according to a report from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Fatima bint Abi Hubaysh, who suffered from a flow of blood outside menstruation (istihāda), had asked the Prophet about it; the detailed answer comes in the next sheet of the encyclopedia.
The Malikis and Hanbalis held that the disbeliever who embraces Islam must perform ghusl, whether he is a disbeliever by origin or an apostate, whether he washed or not before his conversion, and whether or not he incurred a cause of ghusl during his time of disbelief. The evidence is the account of Qays ibn ʿAsim:
"I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) intending to embrace Islam, and he ordered me to wash with water and sidr"
Sahih hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud (355) and al-Tirmidhi (605)
The Prophet's command implies obligation: an authentic report is an argument without any further condition. Moreover the disbeliever rarely escapes a janāba that attaches to him or an impurity that befalls him; strong likelihood is therefore treated as the rule, just as sleep stands in place of hadath and the meeting of the two circumcisions in place of ejaculation (Fath al-Qadir, 1/44; Radd al-Muhtar, 1/307; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/130-131; Al-Hawi al-Kabir, 1/98; Al-Majmuʿ, 2/171; Al-Ifsah, 1/85; Al-Mughni, 1/270-271; Kashshaf al-Qināʿ, 1/145).
The Hanafis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and some Malikis rank the washing of the deceased among the obligations, based on the Prophet's words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
"Wash her three times, or five times, or more than that if you see fit"
Narrated by al-Bukhari (1195) and Muslim (939)
Another part of the Malikis holds it rather to be a sunna. Al-Dasuqi (may Allah have mercy on him) reports that the obligation of washing the deceased is the view of Abd al-Wahhab, Ibn Muhraz and Ibn Abd al-Barr, popularized by Ibn Rashid and Ibn Farhun; its being merely recommended is related by Ibn Abi Zayd, Ibn Yunus and Ibn al-Jallab, and made famous by Ibn Bazziza. The author returns to it, by Allah's grace, in the chapter on funerals in the third volume, where he sets out the cause of the disagreement.
The obligation does not fall upon the deceased himself: responsibility is lifted by death, according to the Prophet's saying: "When the son of Adam dies, his deeds come to an end", narrated by Muslim. The obligation attaches to the Muslims present: it is a communal duty (fard kifāya); if some undertake it, it falls away from the rest, the objective being achieved by a few, like the other duties of this kind.
If the deceased was buried without being washed and the earth has not yet been thrown over him, there is no disagreement: he is exhumed to be washed. Once the earth has been thrown, the Hanafis, along with one Shafi'i view, forbid exhuming him for washing: exhumation is a forbidden mutilation, which moreover exposes the body to dismemberment.
The Malikis and Hanbalis, together with the sounder view among the Shafi'is, hold instead that he is exhumed and washed so long as the body has not changed and there is no fear that it will fall apart (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin, 1/582; Mawahib al-Jalil, 2/234; Rawdat al-Talibin, 2/140; Al-Mughni, 2/553; Hashiyat al-Jamal, 2/143). All of this is set out in detail in the chapter on funerals, Allah willing.
Ghusl has two descriptions: a sufficient one (ijzāʾ) and a complete one. The first is achieved by the intention, according to those who make it obligatory (the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis), together with passing water over all the hair and skin; for the Hanafis it suffices to pass water over all the hair and body.
The complete description gathers ten elements: the intention and pronouncing the name of Allah; washing the hands three times and removing whatever harm is on them; wudūʾ; pouring water over the head three times so that it reaches the roots of the hair; pouring water over the rest of the body; beginning with the right side; rubbing the body with the hand; moving from the place of washing to wash the feet afterwards. It is further recommended to work water through the roots of the hair of the head and beard before pouring water over oneself.
Ahmad said that the ghusl of janāba follows the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed ghusl from janāba, he washed his hands and performed wudūʾ as for prayer, then washed; he worked his hair with his hand until he thought his skin was wet, then poured water over himself three times and washed the rest of his body"
Narrated by al-Bukhari (272) and Muslim (316)
Maymuna (may Allah be pleased with her) described the same method:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) began with the wudūʾ of janāba: he poured water on his hands and washed them two or three times, then poured with his right hand over his left and washed his private parts, struck the ground or the wall with his hand two or three times, rinsed his mouth, sniffed water into his nose, washed his face and arms, poured water over his head and then washed his body; he then moved away from his spot and washed his feet. I brought him a towel but he did not take it and began shaking off the water with his hands"
Narrated by al-Bukhari (265) and Muslim (317)
These two hadiths contain most of the qualities listed above. As for beginning with the right side, it is because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) loved to begin with the right in his acts of purification. In another hadith of Aisha:
"When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed ghusl from janāba, a vessel like the hilab was brought to him; he took water in his palm and began with the right side of his head, then the left; then he took both palms and passed them over his head"
Narrated by al-Bukhari (258) and Muslim (318)
Lexical note: al-Khattabi defined the hilab as the vessel that holds the milk of one she-camel. Ibn Battal thought that al-Bukhari meant here the vessel in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) kept his perfume and which he used at ghusl. Ibn Hajar, in Fath al-Bari (1/371), described it as a vessel slightly smaller than a handspan across; al-Bayhaqi likened it to a jug holding eight ratls (see al-Dhakhira, 1/208; Sharh Sahih Muslim, 3/194; Al-Mughni, 1/282; Al-Ifsah, 1/83).
When two causes obliging ghusl come together, such as menstruation and janāba, or the meeting of the two circumcisions and ejaculation, and the person intends both of them in a single ghusl, that ghusl suffices for both according to most people of knowledge, including Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to perform only one ghusl for intercourse, a ghusl that covers two causes, since it is in any case required by ejaculation. Two combined causes are covered by one washing, just as hadath and impurity are covered by one purification. The rule likewise applies to several minor hadaths combined, such as sleep, the passing of impurity or a touch made with desire: if the person intends them in his wudūʾ, or intends the removal of the hadath or the permissibility of prayer, a single ablution suffices for all (Al-Mughni, 1/288).
Ibn Qudama (may Allah have mercy on him) then raises the case of one who intends only one of the two causes, for example the ghusl of menses without that of janāba: does it suffice for the other? Two answers are reported. The first: this ghusl is valid and was intended for an obligation, so it covers the other, as if he had intended the permissibility of prayer. The second: it covers only what was intended, according to the Prophet's saying (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Deeds are only according to intentions" (al-Bukhari, 1). Likewise one who washes for Friday: does it cover janāba? Two views there as well (Al-Mughni, 1/288).
The hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) comments, citing Ibn Daqiq al-ʿId: "Each person only attains what he intended" means that the intended effect takes place when the act fulfills its conditions, or when a lawful excuse prevents performing it; everything not intended does not take place, neither specifically nor generally. When there is only a general intention that includes the effect without naming it, that is a point of disagreement among scholars, from which countless questions branch out (Fath al-Bari, 1/20-21).
An unintended effect may nevertheless be attained by another route: whoever enters the mosque and prays the obligatory or supererogatory prayer before sitting obtains the greeting of the mosque, whether he intended it or not, for the point of that greeting is occupying the place, which has occurred. The opposite is the one who washes on Friday intending janāba: on the sounder view he does not obtain the ghusl of Friday, for it is an act of worship and not mere cleansing; intention is therefore indispensable there, unlike the greeting of the mosque. And Allah knows best (Fath al-Bari, 1/20-21).